The first axiom of real estate, ‘location, location, location,’ is the secret behind the fast start of the new business park at Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport (MQY) in central Tennessee. The second axiom, ‘it’s all about relationships,’ helps explain how the airport landed its first $100 million investor.
In the course of meeting FAA design standards for runway safety areas, Merritt Island Airport (COI) upgraded its previous grass safety zone and completed four associated environmental mitigation projects in 2016. Apparently, management’s above-and-beyond philosophy also extends to construction administration, as crews finished the $4.8 million initiative $700,000 under budget and one month ahead of schedule.
Faced with the prospect of heavy FAA sanctions, Martha’s Vineyard Airport (MVY) was under the gun to replace its aging, non-compliant aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) building. When its new $10.4 million facility opens in November, officials will officially close the book on a difficult chapter for the county-owned airport.
In May, Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) received a giant shot in the arm when it was named the best-connected medium-sized airport in the United States. Industry analyst William S. Swelbar cited 47 nonstop routes and a diverse group of carriers as major factors in the North Carolina airport’s top ranking. (See sidebar on Page 62 for more details.)
The new $29.4 million checked baggage facility at Westchester County Airport (HPN), near White Plains, NY, was in the design process for four years, but the delay was worth the wait. The new handling and screening system contains in-line explosives detection and is less costly to operate and maintain than similar systems at peer airports.
For years, Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) faced a problem many airports would relish: too much passenger demand. Now, BOS can accommodate three of the world’s largest passenger jets simultaneously, and plans are set to add more gates in a few years. The fix, a $168 million expansion and renovation to Terminal E, debuted in late January.
Already a dominant player in the cargo sector, Miami International Airport (MIA) is working to boost business further with three new initiatives. Two are up and running: a new ocean-to-air shipping program and specialized operations as a pharmaceutical hub. The third, a foreign-trade zone, is pending federal approval, with a decision expected early this year.
With planners projecting that Kelowna International (YLW) will serve 2 million passengers by 2020, the British Columbia airport is embarking on programs to prepare its facilities and customer service practices for future demand.
Since August, all U.S. commercial airports have been required to provide a post-security service animal relief area (SARA); and airport operators are responding with a wide variety of options. Specially constructed facilities range from small, utilitarian spaces in obscure areas to entire rooms with finish materials that match nearby human restrooms. Self-contained ready-to-install commercial units are another viable solution.
Last winter was particularly rough on Washington, D.C., and its airports. Winter Storm Jonas, or “Snowzilla” as local media dubbed it, dumped 29.3 inches of snow on Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)-the largest amount from an individual storm in the airport’s 70-plus-year history. The storm began midday on Friday, Jan. 22, and raged for 36 grueling hours.
While Boston is famous for its annual marathon, last year's $90 million parking expansion at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) was definitely much more of a sprint. As soon as the Massachusetts Port Authority awarded Arrowstreet/Parsons Brinckerhoff the project...
Armed with magnifying glasses and kneepads, crews spent the fall of 2014 examining the pavement and paint on every airfield at every public airport in Virginia. In total, they surveyed 62 commercial and general aviation facilities. As a result, airport operators and state officials now have a concrete plan to improve the safety and longevity of their runways, taxiways and aprons.
The firm that operates Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) faced a unique challenge last year: It would soon have four carriers flying Airbus 380s into the terminal, and only two gates were equipped to handle the double-decker aircraft.
The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority gave contractors 60 days to rebuild the runway and terminal at John C. Tune Airport (JWN), and collectively, they rose to the challenge. In order to provide numerous crews with around-the-clock access to multiple worksites, JWN officials closed the airport from June 1 to July 30, 2015.
Two U.S. airports – one a major hub in the North, the other a small origin-and-destination facility on the West Coast – use barely any electricity to operate some of their parking facilities, thanks to solar panels and light-emitting diode (LED) lighting. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) just turned on a $25.4 million solar array built on top of two parking garages at its Lindbergh Terminal. The 8,700 solar panels are expected to produce 3 megawatts of electricity per day.
Cargo is already a dominant force at John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport (YHM), and it’s about to get even bigger, and more diverse, with the opening of a $12 million warehouse complex.
When searching for a competitive edge, many airports automatically focus on developing new air service. Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) is also developing its parking shuttle service.
Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer Paul Wiedefeld and other airport officials realized that with more than 25% of their passengers riding buses to and from airport parking lots, the shuttle system could make or break BWI’s reputation as an “easy come, easy go” airport. Recent changes to operational practices are already showing measurable improvements, and investments in new technology to enhance customer service are also under way.
When Southwest Florida International (RSW) opened a 24-hour gas station/convenience store last summer, it became the first airport in the state to offer a turnpike-style travel plaza. Strategically located between RSW’s entrance and exit roads, the facility sits on land that Lee County Port Authority set aside for that very purpose when it modernized the Fort Meyers airport with a new terminal that opened in 2005.
Winnipeg Richardson International Airport (YWG) is partnering with Plaza Premium Lounge to add a common-use lounge to its lineup of customer services. Scheduled to open in April, the 3,200-square-foot facility is the Manitoba airport’s first lounge without a specific airline affiliation.
As the Pentagon converts two Midwestern Air National Guard units from flight training to drone operation regiments, the airports that hosted the units lost their aircraft rescue and firefighting services (ARFF) in the process. Acting separately, both airports turned to the private sector to fill that gap. On Oct. 1, Iowa’s Des Moines International Airport (DSM) and Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM) in Arkansas turned over their ARFF operations to Pro-Tec Fire Services, the largest private provider of ARFF services in the industry. While both DSM and FSM received advance notice that their ARFF services would be leaving with their respective guard units, the airport’s individual situations differed ‘ and so did their reactions to the news.
More than 6,000 old roofs are now part of the airfield at Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD). As part of its on-going O'Hare Modernization Program, the airport is incorporating recycled asphalt roofing shingles into the sub-layers of its recently...
Constrained by a state-mandated maximum employee headcount, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) relies heavily on the private sector to complete many of its everyday and not-so-everyday tasks. Of the 14,000 people working at BWI, about...
